Comments on: The Subprime College Crisis http://www.newuniversity.org/2010/05/opinion/the-subprime-college-crisis/ Thu, 24 May 2012 03:30:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Jimbo http://www.newuniversity.org/2010/05/opinion/the-subprime-college-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-3245 Jimbo Wed, 19 May 2010 18:57:19 +0000 http://www.newuniversity.org/?p=13258#comment-3245 Sounds to me like Ben Pickett is the propagandist here. Seriously, this article points out some relevant data when it comes to systemic abuse of both people and tax dollars. 10% of students (for-profits) account for 40% of loan defaults? Yeah, a little understanding of these business models might be appropriate before we let them suck up our tax dollars. Higher costs, lower expectations, worthless reputations.... not all, but many. The non-profits (both public and private) have been offering more and more of this same flexibility at a fraction of the cost, while preserving the reputation of the institution and the quality of the education (you know, the part that made the degree valuable as a job-getting tool in the first place). Educate yourself on educational options before paying someone to educate you! Options from the SREB (Southern Regional Education Board): www.electroniccampus.org Sounds to me like Ben Pickett is the propagandist here. Seriously, this article points out some relevant data when it comes to systemic abuse of both people and tax dollars. 10% of students (for-profits) account for 40% of loan defaults? Yeah, a little understanding of these business models might be appropriate before we let them suck up our tax dollars. Higher costs, lower expectations, worthless reputations…. not all, but many. The non-profits (both public and private) have been offering more and more of this same flexibility at a fraction of the cost, while preserving the reputation of the institution and the quality of the education (you know, the part that made the degree valuable as a job-getting tool in the first place).

Educate yourself on educational options before paying someone to educate you!
Options from the SREB (Southern Regional Education Board): http://www.electroniccampus.org

]]> By: anonymous http://www.newuniversity.org/2010/05/opinion/the-subprime-college-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-3164 anonymous Wed, 12 May 2010 16:27:14 +0000 http://www.newuniversity.org/?p=13258#comment-3164 These articles need to have the names of the author(s). "Editorial board" hides who is responsible for the consistent display of arrogance and ignorance in these weekly articles. The first paragraph just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This isn't a movie -- stop describing a force of evil and an unsuspecting populus of victims. The everyday bankers who issued "predatory" loans were like the rest of us, stupid and greedy. Many banks blew up and the ones that were bailed out/bought out got their houses cleaned, so the slick loan officer who fattened up on subprime loans probably got fired anyway. What is the point of the attitude? Just a show of arrogance from attendees of a traditional university. As previous commenters have suggested, there are no facts to augment any of the qualifications of the value of for-profit schools. The one "fact" I do see - that 60% of all for-profit degree holders have an avg of 3x debt over regular univ degree holders - says nothing at all. All I can visualize from that "fact" a side by side comparison of the Harvard undergrad who had his tuition mostly paid for by mommy and daddy and then the average working man, who has take a little risk to attain an education. These articles need to have the names of the author(s). “Editorial board” hides who is responsible for the consistent display of arrogance and ignorance in these weekly articles.

The first paragraph just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This isn’t a movie — stop describing a force of evil and an unsuspecting populus of victims. The everyday bankers who issued “predatory” loans were like the rest of us, stupid and greedy. Many banks blew up and the ones that were bailed out/bought out got their houses cleaned, so the slick loan officer who fattened up on subprime loans probably got fired anyway.

What is the point of the attitude? Just a show of arrogance from attendees of a traditional university. As previous commenters have suggested, there are no facts to augment any of the qualifications of the value of for-profit schools. The one “fact” I do see – that 60% of all for-profit degree holders have an avg of 3x debt over regular univ degree holders – says nothing at all. All I can visualize from that “fact” a side by side comparison of the Harvard undergrad who had his tuition mostly paid for by mommy and daddy and then the average working man, who has take a little risk to attain an education.

]]> By: Ben Pickett http://www.newuniversity.org/2010/05/opinion/the-subprime-college-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-3144 Ben Pickett Tue, 11 May 2010 17:27:52 +0000 http://www.newuniversity.org/?p=13258#comment-3144 UOP is a threat to the traditional college model. Traditional college has been slow to change to the needs of the student and employers. I currently work full time and attend UOP. I am also currently enrolled in the doctoral program. The idea that UOP does not provide a quality education is incorrect. My dissertation will go through seven levels of review before I graduate whereas a traditional college typically requires four. Why? Quality is important to UOP. UOP is fully accredited and comes under additional scrutiny from the Department of Education. I shopped around before attending UOP for my masters program. My local university was twice the cost of UOP. In addition, many of my instructors teach at traditional universities. My employer paid for my masters program at UOP. They are also considering paying for my doctorate program. They find considerable value in my education. On completion of my MBA I received a substantial raise. In addition, I have worked with students in leadership positions at various high level employers. I have also worked with students all over the world. Currently, I am in a class with individuals from Qatar, Canada, and the United States. This article is nothing more than a piece of propaganda. UOP is a threat to the traditional college model. Traditional college has been slow to change to the needs of the student and employers. I currently work full time and attend UOP. I am also currently enrolled in the doctoral program. The idea that UOP does not provide a quality education is incorrect. My dissertation will go through seven levels of review before I graduate whereas a traditional college typically requires four. Why? Quality is important to UOP. UOP is fully accredited and comes under additional scrutiny from the Department of Education. I shopped around before attending UOP for my masters program. My local university was twice the cost of UOP. In addition, many of my instructors teach at traditional universities. My employer paid for my masters program at UOP. They are also considering paying for my doctorate program. They find considerable value in my education. On completion of my MBA I received a substantial raise. In addition, I have worked with students in leadership positions at various high level employers. I have also worked with students all over the world. Currently, I am in a class with individuals from Qatar, Canada, and the United States. This article is nothing more than a piece of propaganda.

]]> By: Steve Cooper http://www.newuniversity.org/2010/05/opinion/the-subprime-college-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-3141 Steve Cooper Tue, 11 May 2010 14:27:00 +0000 http://www.newuniversity.org/?p=13258#comment-3141 I agree that there are some inherent problems with student debt loads, but to single out for-profits is not very responsible. Moreover, the author fails to cite any emperical data to support this assertion and I feel should be held accountable for false statements, "Despite the poor quality of the education offered, for-profits are not cheap". I am an alum of UC Irvine and I know that there are some of us who attended this "fine" univeristy and are doing well, but I also know a lot of people who attended UC Irvine who are not doing well, and frankly probably never will - another fact the author fails to mention. ALso, I find it ironic the the banner ads at the bottom of the page, which happen to serve as a revenue stream for New University, are from the "enemy", also known as the for-profit universities. I agree that there are some inherent problems with student debt loads, but to single out for-profits is not very responsible. Moreover, the author fails to cite any emperical data to support this assertion and I feel should be held accountable for false statements, “Despite the poor quality of the education offered, for-profits are not cheap”. I am an alum of UC Irvine and I know that there are some of us who attended this “fine” univeristy and are doing well, but I also know a lot of people who attended UC Irvine who are not doing well, and frankly probably never will – another fact the author fails to mention. ALso, I find it ironic the the banner ads at the bottom of the page, which happen to serve as a revenue stream for New University, are from the “enemy”, also known as the for-profit universities.

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